When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it appeared that the entire world had come to a halt. Countries and cities around the world went into lockdown, closing schools and non-essential businesses and canceling cultural and sporting events.
Despite everything, the world did its best to adjust to the circumstances. However, even more than a year after it began, the COVID-19 pandemic is still causing unforeseen socioeconomic consequences worldwide. All industries were severely impacted, but the healthcare industry took a particularly hard hit.
Healthcare providers, practitioners, and workers are at the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus disease. Every day, they face a huge challenge; they must treat patients while avoiding disease transmission themselves. That is why medical practices had to find numerous ways to cope and sustain themselves during the pandemic and will have to do so in the future.
Dr. Gregory Crichlow is the founder and owner of AvantBlue Medical Systems, a private healthcare practice that went through the whole ordeal and managed to come out on top. “The start of the pandemic was quite stressful at first because of lockdowns and the uncertainty it brought,” says Dr. Crichlow. “Still, I used that as an opportunity to spend time with my family, and I gave my staff the opportunity to do the same.”
According to Dr. Crichlow, COVID-19 severely impacted healthcare practices’ revenue generation cycles. This impact on the revenue generation cycle can be attributed to a sudden decrease in hospital admissions, postponement of scheduled appointments and screenings, cancellation of planned treatments, and an increase in denied or rejected medical claims.
Many companies like AvantBlue made sacrifices to keep the most dedicated employees employed and contributed as much as they could to families in need through various social and community support programs. The pandemic brought a lot of fear and uncertainty but it also brought out the best in many people, beginning with the frontline workers.
“The pandemic brought a lot of uncertainty and fear,” Dr. Gregory Crichlow says, “but it also allowed us to become fresh and creative. We found ways to connect with clients as well as the community on a far more personal level. We were also able to innovatively improve and expand our services and our standards. As a result, we saw an improvement in our delivery of business, and we are beginning to see the first signs of an increase.”
Though COVID-19 brought many challenges with it, AvantBlue was able to retain its patients. It’s clear that it will continue growing thanks to Dr. Gregory Crichlow’s expertise and leadership, and the dedication of those working at AvantBlue.
